"Coach at halftime said, 'They're not stopping you guys. You're stopping yourselves,'" receiver D'Juan Woods said. "Once that sunk in, it got to the point where we thought let's get in the end zone. We need to stop kicking field goals and get in the end zone.

Associated Press

Oklahoma State starting quarterback Bobby Reid runs with the ball in the second quarter of a Big 12 game against Missouri on Saturday. Missouri won 38-31

"That really was the turning point."

In the second half, the Cowboys' offense came alive and scored three touchdowns within a 16-minute span to get within 38-31. The rally came up short when Al Pena attempted to throw the ball out of bounds and it was intercepted along the sidelines, but at least the Cowboys (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) had something to build on heading into this week's game at Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1).

The 31 points were a season high and the 351 yards of total offense were the most since a Week 1 victory against Division I-AA Montana State. The main difference was the Cowboys' ability to move the ball more effectively through the air, picking up a season-high 219 passing yards, instead of relying on the run.

"Those are things in past games we didn't do," Woods said. "We moved the ball, but we couldn't get it in the end zone. It felt great to have it happen."

Woods had a season-high 125 yards on eight receptions and freshman Ricky Price had three catches for 63 yards, including a 42-yarder from backup quarterback Al Pena. Before the Missouri game, Price had caught only one 9-yard pass in the Cowboys' first four games as the Cowboys depended on Woods as their go-to receiver.

Woods said he thought Price's success played a part in his big day.

"When you have a couple of receivers on the field that can catch the ball, it makes defenses play honest," he said.

After the offense got going behind starter Bobby Reid, it didn't miss a beat once Pena took over. Pena went 4-for-7 for 64 yards and led a 70-yard scoring drive - the Cowboys' second-longest this season - and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Woods on a fade pattern.

Coach Mike Gundy isn't saying whether Reid (foot) will be able to start against Texas A&M or if Pena will make his first career start.

"All our quarterbacks are very talented quarterbacks," Woods said. "I've had the opportunity to play with Al. ... He's capable of getting the job done."

Gundy said he was pleased with Pena's performance, except that the ball that was intercepted should have been thrown so it went out of bounds. And despite the fact that Pena has had few practice repetitions, he expects Pena, a high school coach's son, to be confident if he plays.

"I think he has some qualities that give him the chance to be successful," Gundy said. "If Bobby can't play and he plays, we'll find out."